Gunmen Abduct Policeman Involved in Recent CJNG Operation in Chapalita, Guadalajara, that Left 4 Dead, 30 Arrested

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Police officer Mario Alberto Villa Arce was a driver during the operation. His whereabouts are unknown.

Mario Alberto Villa Arce, a municipal policeman who participated in the recent law enforcement operation against a Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) cell in Chapalita neighborhood in Guadalajara, Jalisco, was kidnapped by armed men.

His colleagues have received death threats and said that their superiors have not provided them with appropriate security measures.

The police officer was kidnapped on his day off when he was walking with his son on Rafael Ochoa Street, at the intersection with Álvaro Alcázar Avenue in the Jardines Alcalde neighborhood. At least eight individuals aboard two trucks – one Blue Honda CRV and a gray Hyundai – forced him into a vehicle at gunpoint.

The policeman fired at the assailants but they shot back and quickly overwhelmed him. His son was shot on the left leg while trying to defend his father.

The incident occurred very close to the headquarters of the Center for Justice for Women, where there is constant state police surveillance.

Two officers from the Guadalajara Municipal Police have been kidnapped in less than a month. On April 3, Virginia Muñoz González was abducted in front of her children. Her whereabouts are unknown.

Operation in Chapalita

For a detailed breakdown of the event, please click here

On April 19, 2021, Guadalajara authorities receive an anonymous call reporting that kidnapping victims are being held captive at 1285 Chapalita Avenue in the city of Guadalajara.

When security forces arrived at the house in question to investigate, a woman came out to answer the door. She soon realized that they were police officers and quickly closed the door. Police officers noticed that several people were escaping through the yard’s back wall and through the property’s roof. Several of them then tried to struggle with one of the officers and two suspects were shot dead.

A gunfight broke out and extended to other parts of the neighborhood. As reported by Borderland Beat, authorities are certain that the house was used as a safe house by the CJNG. Inside the property, authorities found a dead person and several firearms. Six more people who were in captivity by the CJNG were rescued.

Jalisco state prosecutor Gerardo Solís Gómez told reporters that 30 people were apprehended: 27 are men and 6 women. Two of the detainees were minors.

Sources: Proceso; El Occidente